The aliens of Jabba's Palace are my favorite. During production of "Return of the Jedi" the costume department got a second shot of the Cantina scene but with a much higher budget. We no longer see second-hand Halloween costumes repainted. Instead, we get giant complex puppets which had to be controlled by multiple puppeteers. The most notable is Jabba the Hutt who was puppeteered by seven different people at once and is the most expensive puppet ever to be produced. Let's take a look at some alien species, shall we?
Hutt
Jabba the Hutt is so
famous that even non-fans could tell you what a Hutt looks like- however, the
species was never supposed to be a species at all. During the original filming
of "Star Wars", Jabba was a human and a Hutt was just a title. It wasn’t until
the script for “Return of the Jedi” was being written that it was established
that a Hutt was a giant green slug.
Hutts are almost
exclusively gangsters. At face value, Hutts might seem vulnerable to attacks
from their enemies, but Hutts are actually quite durable. Their thick skin
provides plenty of armor and they are capable of regrowing their limbs. Hutts
also live long lives (Jabba was over 600 years old when he was killed). Most
Hutts are capable of slithering around, but some Hutts chose to wear cybernetic
legs to increase their speed and agility (Grakkus the Hutt is one notable
example).
The reproduction cycle
of Hutts has been a perplexing part of the Expanded Universe. Hutts are
sometimes said to produce asexually. Other times they are said to be
hermaphroditic having both male and female parts which they can use to either
father or mother a child with another Hutt. Pablo Hidalgo recently cleared up
this mess by proclaiming that under the new "Disney Canon" Hutts are simply male
or female like every other species.
Twi’lek
Apart from Humans,
Twi’leks might be the most widespread species of the Star Wars universe. Since
their introduction in “Return of the Jedi” they have made their way into every
corner of Star Wars media. Twil’leks are easily identified by their head tails
(called lekku). Their lekku not only house part of the Twi’leks brain but also
help store fats and other nutrients. Twi’leks also use their lekku to
communicate with each other in a type of sign language.
Twi’leks are also known
for their often vibrant skin colors. Though, Individuals such as Bib Fortuna or
Beezer Fortuna are known to have a light tan skin color, many other Twi’leks
have green, blue, purple, orange, yellow, or red skin. Female Twil’leks are
often seen serving as slaves or dancers.
During the series finale of “Rebels” it was revealed that Twi’leks could breed with humans. The Twi’lek Hera Syndulla was in a romantic relationship with the Human Jedi, Kanan Jarrus. After Kanan’s tragic death Jacen Syndulla (a Human-Twi’lek hybrid) was born. Though Jacen lacked a vibrant tail color or head tails, he did sport naturally green colored hair.
During the series finale of “Rebels” it was revealed that Twi’leks could breed with humans. The Twi’lek Hera Syndulla was in a romantic relationship with the Human Jedi, Kanan Jarrus. After Kanan’s tragic death Jacen Syndulla (a Human-Twi’lek hybrid) was born. Though Jacen lacked a vibrant tail color or head tails, he did sport naturally green colored hair.
Weequay
Weequay can be
identified by their leathery skin, well suited for desert climates. Many males
also sport long braids. Most Weequay are often quiet beings, as they primarily
communicate through pheromones, however the pirate Hondo Ohnaka is known to be
quite chatty.
The Weequay species was
named by George Lucas himself, who paid homage to the "Moby Dick" character
Queequeg. Though several Weequay appeared in “Return of the Jedi” as skiff
guards, none were ever named. The first onscreen Weequay with a name is possibly
Sora Bulq, a Jedi Master from “Attack of the Clones”.
Nikto
The Nikto are a species
with many subspecies, which makes them hard to identify. The most common Nikto
are probably the “Red Nikto” (Kajain'sa'Nikto) and the “Green Nitko”
(Kadas'sa'Nikto). Nikto tend to have spikes and horns on their faces.
The Nikto were named
after a famous line from “The Day The Earth Stood Still”: ‘Klaatu Barada
Nikto’. Star Wars action figures traditionally identify three different skiff
guards as Klaatu, Barada, and Nikto, although current canon states that
“Klaatu” is a character name and that Klaatu is a Green Nikto where “Nikto” is
not a character name but often is used to identify one of the Red Nikto from
Jabba’s Palace.
Another famous Nikto is
the Jedi warrior Ima-Gun Di whose name was designed to sound like the phrase
“I'm gonna die”. It is no surprise that the Jedi Master perished in the same
“Clone Wars” episode in which he was introduced.
Klatooinian
The “Klaatu Barada Nikto”
naming system is really a fiasco. It turns out that the character Barada is a
Klatooinian even though the character Klaatu is a Nikto and that the character
commonly called Nikto is a Red Nikto named Vizam.
The dog-faced Klatooinian species often worked
as henchmen and bounty hunters. They were close associates to the Hutts for
much of galactic history and the Klatooinians worshipped the Hutts as god-like beings
(partly due to the fact that the Hutts had an extensive lifespan).
Gamorrean
Gamorreans are not known
for their intelligence. In fact their feeble-minds make them particularly loyal
to whomever they serve. Gamoreans prefer melee weapons to blasters, as they
consider it honorable to defeat their enemies in close combat. The male boars,
in particular, were known have poor hygiene habits.
A notable exception
among the Gamorrean species is Voort saBinring a Wraith Squadron pilot for the
New Republic- though saBinring was genetically altered to be more intelligent.
Early sketches of
Gamorreans by Ralph McQuarrie showed the guards to be more Gorellia-like, but
artist Joe Johnson later developed them into the now-recognizable pig-like
species.
Gran
The Gran
species can be identified by their three stalk-eyes and their goat-like mouths.
Gran are from the planet Malastare where they live along side of the Dug
species. The sport of Podracing was invented on Malastare about 60 years before
the birth of Anakin Skywalker. A Gran named Mawhonic was a notable podracer in
the Boonta Eve classic against Skywalker. Mawhonic is also the only podracer
other than Anakin who is not a CGI creation. Although Mawhonic is shorter than
the average Gran he is still taller than most of the Podracers.
Another famous Gran was
Ree-Yees, who was the Gran seen in Jabba’s palace in the film “Return of the
Jedi”. Originally Ree-Yees was meant to be the Admiral of the rebel fleet,
although Lucas chose the Akbar puppet to fulfill this role instead. It is
notable that Ree-Yees got his name by being an almost-anagram for “Three Eyes”
The Azumel species
(featured in “Solo: A Star Wars Story”) is similar to the Gran but sport six
eyes instead of three.
Whiphid
Whiphids are tall,
furry, tusked creatures from a frozen planet called Toola. J’Quille is the
specific Whiphid that appeared in Jabba’s palace, though during the production
of “Return of the Jedi” the J’Quille was nicknamed “Tooth Face”.
Several Whiphid served
as Jedi during the last days of the Republic. The youngling Jempa appeared in
the film “Attack of the Clones”. Jedi Master K’Kruhk appeared in the “Clone
Wars” cartoon where he was killed by General Greivous, but it was later
revealed that he survived the ordeal when he appeared in the “Dark Times” comic
storyline. K’Kruhk even survived Order 66 and was known to be alive 130 years
after the Battle of Yavin during the “Legacy” comic series.
Chevin
Chevins resemble very
short elephants that stand upright and it is no surprise that the Chevin in
Jabba’s Palace was called “Elephant Man” during the filming of “Return of the
Jedi”. Eventually “Elephant Man” became “Ephant Mon” and that is how fans know
him today.
The Chevin may look odd
and Star Wars lore provides a good reason for this. The Chevin are said to have
evolved from giant mammals (probably elephant-like creatures) who were wiped
out when an asteroid collided with the planet Vinsoth millions of years before
the time of the Galactic Republic. Even though Chevin look feeble, they an
actually run as fast as any humanoid and their snouts offer a keen sense of
smell which make them quite adept at hunting. Chevin were so successful that
they were the dominant life form on planet Vinsoth and enslaved the Chev, (the
other sentient species that lived there).
Yarkora
Yakora are a hungry
species, having evolved from grazers. Many Yokora spend spend much of the day
eating. Because they have two stomachs, four kidneys, and three livers, it is
rare that Yokora die from natural causes.
During production of
“Return of the Jedi” the crew called the Yarkora “Yak-Face”. Though the
character only appeared on screen for a moment, he received an action figure in
1985. The action figure was never released in the US, however, and it is one of
the rarest of the original line. It currently is listed on Ebay for $700 or
more.
A 1997 sourcebook
eventually gave a name to the Yarkora who appeared in Jabba’s Palace. The
character is now known as Saelt-Marae and has been revealed to be a confidence
trickster. The character also recently appeared in the 2015 comic “Darth Vader #1”.
More To Come
"Return of the Jedi" offers a wide-range of lovable aliens. Too many for one blog post. I will return in future weeks with more galactic species.
Star Wars Aliens
The Aliens of the Cantina
The Aliens of “The Empire Strikes Back"
The Aliens of Jabba’s Palace
The Aliens of Max Rebo’s Band
The Aliens of the Battle of Endor
Flipping Heads
https://roadto7.blogspot.com/2018/09/flipping-heads.html
The Aliens of the Phantom Menace
https://roadto7.blogspot.com/2018/10/aliens-of-phantom-menace.html
The Aliens of the Phantom Menace
https://roadto7.blogspot.com/2018/10/aliens-of-phantom-menace.html
The Aliens of Attack of the Clones
The Aliens of Revenge of the Sith
Expanded Universe Aliens
https://roadto7.blogspot.com/2018/12/10-species-from-old-expanded-universe.html
https://roadto7.blogspot.com/2018/12/10-species-from-old-expanded-universe.html
Aliens of Podracing
Aliens of Ralph McQuarrie
Aliens of Rogue One
Aliens of The Last Jedi
Aliens of Solo
Aliens of Endor
The Most Obscure Aliens of the Original Trilogy
Aliens of the Mandalorian
Bonus Aliens
Aliens of Star Trek
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